It seems like the organization and fans, unfortunately, feel the same way. Outsiders watch O'Reilly and fall in love with him, yet those closest to the situation continue to think he's a fluke. That's fine, he has been called a fluke and an overachiever at every level he's played. "Too weak." "Skating isn't good enough." "No shot." All he does is exceed expectations.

I am sure many teams will love having the 50 point, perennial Selke candidate guy down the middle for them. You win Stanley Cups with players like Ryan O'Reilly.

it's not the 50 pts that's the issue. almost every one believes he will be a 50 pt guy. but to be the type of player to justify his demands he needs to be a 70+ pt guy or at least a 20 goal 40 assist guy.
if he was 20-40 with his defense then he'd be worth the money.

problem is he hasn't reached that level yet and it's a risk to pay him like that. not because he'll suddenly stop working. but grit only takes you so far until you have to improve rapidly and excel at the level of a potential superstar.
that's the type of contract he's asking for and he's only flashed that potential once out of three seasons.